As an education candidate, I understand the importance of establishing an environment of respect and rapport within a classroom. Within my classroom, I want all students to feel comfortable and valued. To encourage this, one thing that I shared with students was personalized encouraging sticky notes that I placed on their desks for the 100th day of school. In each of these notes, I made sure to tell them something that they do that I think is great and that they should keep up. These types of classroom interactions are important because they show each student that they are individually valued for their hard work. In our classroom, students also make individual goals that they keep on their desks and as they complete them they get a star on the super improver wall as recognition. This type of reward shows the class to celebrate not only their own achievements but also those of others. This creates interactions that are highly respectful, reflecting genuine warmth, caring, and sensitivity to students as individuals. By doing this, students are able to see that even though we all have different goals, they are all important. In our classroom, we also have an Alpha Hawk collage that is visible to all students. This idea is something that goes along with the whole-brain teaching framework used by my cooperating teacher. An alpha hawk is someone important to you that you respect and look up to, and our goal is to make them proud of the work we do and individuals we become. When we allow our students to bring in a picture of their alpha hawk to add to the collage, it allows for a higher level of civility and respect among all members of the class. Students are able to encourage one another to make their alpha hawks proud and because of this an environment where students feel valued and comfortable to take intellectual risks is created. As educators, even my cooperating teacher and I have goals that we make known to the students, and as we complete them we celebrate with the students. This models to them that goals are important throughout all spans of life, and that one person's goal is just as important as that of another. In the last picture attached, you can see how my cooperating teacher and I have developed a loving relationship with students. The student in the picture, Landon, actually made us the hats we were wearing for a Valentine's Day gift, so we all wore them on hat day. This showed Landon that we were thankful for his gifts and enjoyed them. This shows the type of relationship which I am able to create with my students, which is one thing that I always strive to do. Relationships within the classroom can make or break the environment, and I believe that if students do not feel appreciated, cared for, safe, and seen within the classroom then there is no room for positive learning to occur. This goes along with Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid theory. Students need basic needs in order to build themselves up as not only students but individuals as well, so as an educator I want to support my students to encourage this growth and make sure they have what they need.